How Much Milk to Drink

My doctor said about 18 oz per day but don't exceed 24oz. I have two boys ages 2 and 14 mo). they get at least 6oz with every meal. h2o in the AM & a small cup of juice in PM. Good luck

Drinking milk is not important but getting enough calcium is important. Milk is so acidic that it takes all the calcium in the milk to buffer the acidity. They and you will get more usable calcium from vegetables like broccoli. If you are going to give them milk, make sure it is organic or at the very least natural. You can get milk without hormones and without antibiotics at Aldis for less than $2.00 per gallon. The best milk for children is goat's milk as it is closest to mother's milk. As a Naturopathic Doctor, I never recommend cow's milk for anyone to drink.

hi~
good for you for wanting to take a proactive stance on preventing osteoporosis. this info is from http://kidshealth.org/parent/food/general/toddler_food.html#

The amounts provided are based on the Food Guide Pyramid for the average 2- and 3-year-old. For kids between 12 and 24 months, the 2-year-old recommendations can serve as a guide, but during this year toddler diets are still in transition. For 2-year olds milk intake = 2 cups. One cup equals: 1 cup of milk or yogurt, 1½ ounces of natural cheese, or 2 ounces of processed cheese.
FYI Cow's milk is low in iron. To help prevent iron deficiency:
• Limit your child's milk intake to about 16-24 ounces a day.
• Serve more iron-rich foods (meat, poultry, fish, enriched grains, beans, tofu). When serving iron-rich meals, include foods that contain vitamin C (tomatoes, broccoli, oranges, and strawberries), which improve the body's iron absorption.
• Continue serving iron-fortified cereal until your child is 18-24 months of age.
• Talk to your doctor if you're concerned that your child isn't eating a balanced diet.

On a personal note i would encourage you to use organic milk (no growth hormones, no antibiotics). Also the other thing that is vital to preventing osteoporosis is weight bearing activities.

Take care!

Hi, J.:

How come the girls are not drinking milk?

The reason for drinking milk is to receive calcium for bones and teeth.
Calcium can be obtained from vegetables and supplements for infants and toddlers.

Check your health food store and get them some supplements and check the literature on calcium enriched foods.

Are they drinking alot of water?
Hope this helps. Good luck. D.

I believe it is anywhere between 8-16 oz. do they drink skim milk? do they eat yogurt cheese and or any other dairy products. as long as they are getting daily calcium. dairy untake from milk, cheese yogurt etc. they should be fine. if the older one is still on whole milk, you may want to switch to a lowerfat milk like 1% or skim. the younger one should remain on whole until at least age 2. hope this helps. Kelly

When my oldest son was one I asked our dr the same question. She said NOT more than 16 oz of milk. More than this & you risk a child consuming too many liquid calories & not getting enough other nutrients. She did say he should consume other calcium rich foods: cheese, brocoli, yogurt, etc.

My son hated milk at first, so I became quite adept at getting calcium in him where ever I could! Ask your ped what the total recommended amount is for girls their age, I can't remember. But what I can tell you is that yogurt counts ounce for ounce in calcium (when compared to milk). One little container of yogurt is like 4 oz right there! Yo Baby Yogurt is made with whole milk, if your girls are still getting whole milk. There were days I let my son eat a container of yogurt with every meal just to be sure he was getting enough calcium. You can get kids OJ, which has tons of calcium in it. I think there's even a bread out there that's made with calcium. There's always the trick of adding strawberry powder or chocolate syrup to the milk, but that never seemed to excite my kid. Good luck!

My best friends daughter doesn't drink milk, or eat ice cream, or many cheeses, and while jumping on the trampoline she fractured her shin bone, right in the front, under her knee, right at the growth plate. The Orthodedic Doctor said he had NEVER seen a break there before and that it could have been so easy to break due to lack of good nutrition. Children need the nutrtion from Milk. If your girls just won't drink it then find other ways to get them the mutrtion they need from other sources.

I always trust parentcenter.com with questions about health and nutrition because they have physicians and nutrtionist answer them.

I think you should look up some info on how in this country we have osteoporosis and in japan they don't even have a word for it. Milk is not the best source of calcium for your girls. But there are other foods that are. Sorry i can't name any off the top of my head, but sometimes the info sinks in better if you research it your self. try googleing foods high in calcium. these foods will have the other nutrients in them naturally that enable the body to fully absorb all the available calcium. Absorption is key, Calcium needs other nutrients to absorb properly.

They should be getting 18-24 ounces a day of milk, 24 if possible, 8oz per meal with breakfast, lunch and dinner. They are not getting nearly enough milk in their diet. I suggest trying to give them milk at their snack times as well and spreading it out over an entire day.

Kids must be 2 years old to take a vitamin so for the older child give her 1/2 a Flintstones Complete daily to supplement what she is missing. Call your doc about the younger child. They may suggest a 1/2 for her as well, or something else. You can also get calcium in by foods such as yogurt, cheese bites, string cheese, cottage cheese, etc. Offer cheese whenever you can like cheese covered broccoli, cheese and crackers, cheese burgers, ham and cheese, etc.

I would absolutely call your doctor and get as many suggestions as possible to get that calcium in them. Don't give them juice, just milk. Try chocolate milk or strawberry milk as snack time, white for their three main meals. There's also PediaSure. Walmart has their brand that is less expensive that we use for one of my picky eaters.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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Hi J., Its not just about milk. There are tons of great dairy products out there like cottage cheese, yogurt (my girls LOVED yoplait custard style when they were little for breakfast or a snack), string cheese sticks, cheddar cheese chunks and how about toasted bagles with cream cheese?....be creative if they don't like to drink milk. You can also "hide" milk in the foods you cook...and then there's always milk with cereal. Best wishes.